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  Changsha Prefecture government office, located in Linxiang.

  In an era when transportation was not developed, famous cities and towns were often located on the side of water systems to facilitate the transportation of troops, grain, and goods. For example, Jiangling is located north of the Yangtze River, Xiatou is west of the Han River, south of the Yangtze River, Luoyang has the benefit of the Yellow River, Chang'an has the convenience of the Wei River, and Ye City has the Zhangshui River connecting the north and south.

  Linxing is no exception, as the name suggests, this city is located on the east bank of Xiangjiang River, which controls the middle reaches of Xiangjiang River, connects to Yangtze River in the north and dominates Jiaozhou in the south.

  Such an important place, originally should be stationed with elite soldiers and heavy generals, but unfortunately, the four counties of Jingnan and Jiaozhou are all in underdeveloped areas, and their importance in military and economic aspects is far inferior to that of the Central Plains, so they have not received much attention.

  At this moment, the sky has turned dark, and all the people in the city have gone to bed, but the prefecture is still brightly lit.

  In the government office, Han Xuan was sitting upright at his desk, staring at a letter on the desk with a cold smile.

  Several months ago, Cao Cao's army marched southward, and the governor of Jing Province, Liu Cong, surrendered without a fight, causing the entire province to be shaken. After that, Cao Cao's iron cavalry defeated the famous Liu Bei at Dangyang, and with this victory, Cao Cao took control of Jiangling. With just one document, he made all four southern districts submit, which were already like grass on the wall.

  It was another piece of paper, and Han Xuan became a county official under the powerful military support of Cao Ang, shaking his body and sitting on the throne of the governor.

  But what Han Xuan did not expect was that in less than three months, the invincible Cao Cao and his hundreds of thousands of troops were unexpectedly defeated by the young Zhou Yu and his tens of thousands of Wu soldiers, and retreated hastily to the north.

  Just then, before he had even warmed his seat, Liu Bei's southern expeditionary force marched straight in, heading for his capital at Linxiang.

  Han Xuan was very clear that Cao Cao could treat Liu Bei as nothing, like driving sheep, and drive this Liu uncle from the Central Plains all the way to Jiangnan, but he Han Xuan did not have a bit of qualification to underestimate Liu Bei.

  Are we going to surrender without a fight?

  Just as Han Xuan was having this thought, he unexpectedly discovered that the person Liu Bei had sent was not Guan Yu or Zhang Fei, those renowned generals who shook the heavens, but rather his nameless adopted son and a mere 800 soldiers.

  After learning this intelligence, Han Xuan immediately gained confidence, and he also had an ace up his sleeve. This card might not be enough to guarantee a win against Liu Bei or Guan Yu, but using it against Liu Feng, that young whelp, should be no problem.

  What made Han Xuan even more ridiculous was that this Liu Feng actually dared to send someone to deliver a letter of challenge, specifically asking for Huang Zhong to come out and fight.

  Liu Feng's challenge letter hit Han Xuan right where he wanted it to.

  "Huang Lao General has arrived."

  The guard outside entered and reported, Han Xuan's spirit was lifted, he waved his hand and said: "You've come at the right time, quickly invite General to enter."

  A moment later, a seven-foot-tall old man strode in.

  The old man had sparse whiskers and white hair, with a deep wrinkle on his forehead that was as sharp as a knife. His eyes were sunken, but still shone brightly. He stood like a sturdy pine tree, exuding an aura of majesty despite the signs of age.

  "Huang Zhong has seen Governor Han." He stopped at the front of the steps, cupped his hands in a salute, and his voice boomed like a great bell.

  "We are all our own people, General Huang, why be so polite." Han Xuan smiled and got up to welcome him, taking a few steps forward to help Huang Zhong up.

  Huang Zhong stood up straight and his face was still solemn: "Governor Han summoned me in the middle of the night, I don't know what's going on?"

  Han Xuan coughed lightly: "What I and the old general said yesterday, about Liu Bei sending troops to invade my Changsha County, the old general should not have forgotten, right?"

  "Liu Xuande is a hero of his generation, and Cao Gong is still reeling from the defeat at Red Cliff. We can't afford to clash with him lightly. My suggestion remains the same: the enemy has few troops and little provisions, so it's in their interest to fight quickly. They will definitely come straight for Linxiang; we just need to defend the city carefully and wait for them to retreat when their supplies run out."

  Huang Zhong's response was very concise, however, Han Xuan's expression looked obviously not quite satisfied.

  "Cao Gong suffered a defeat, and our four counties in Jiangnan were immediately cut off from the imperial court. If we only focus on defending ourselves and let the enemy come and go as they please, we will suffer harm sooner or later. I have sent someone to investigate, and this time the invading enemy has only 800 soldiers, and the general leading them is just Liu Bei's adopted son with a yellow beard. Why don't we take advantage of this opportunity to launch a preemptive attack, defeat the invading enemy in one fell swoop, show our determination and strength that Changsha will not tolerate invasion, and make Liu Bei dare not come again? What do you think, General?"

  Upon hearing the name Liu Feng, Huang Zhong's eyes flashed with a hint of surprise, but he still said: "No matter who the enemy is or how many there are, I have few soldiers in Changsha and cannot afford to lose any. In my opinion, we should adopt a defensive strategy."

  Han Xuan's face gradually darkened, and he sneered: "General Huang, you are unwilling to go to war, I'm afraid you're worried about losing those 400 elite troops, and you want to preserve your strength."

  Huang Zhong's face, full of wrinkles, flashed a line of displeasure: "I, Huang Zhong, as a native of Changsha, should do my utmost to protect my hometown. How could I be selfish? I just don't want to make unnecessary sacrifices."

  "General, don't get angry, I was just joking." Han Xuan smiled and handed the letter to Huang Zhong, "But someone has already pointed out that Dao's family is provoking us, if you still tolerate it, what will happen to the reputation of the Tiger of Changsha?"

  Huang Zhong's face showed a look of doubt, he took the letter and looked at it, his expression immediately became complex, with a hint of anger hidden beneath his suppressed emotions.

  Liu Feng's battle declaration was only a few sentences, explicitly stating that Huang Zhong should come out of the city and line up for battle. If Huang Zhong dared not to do so, he would behead Governor Han Xuan and surrender the city.

  "General, are you planning to go to battle or preparing to take my head off as a tribute gift to that fake son of Liu Bei?" Han Xuan asked with a smile that was not quite a smile.

  Huan Xuan's words had reached this point, and Huang Zhong had no other choice. He slammed the letter of challenge onto the table and angrily shouted: "I'll go out of the city tomorrow to fight a battle, and teach that arrogant little brat a good lesson!"

  Upon hearing this, a sly smile spread across Han Xuan's face.

  …………

  The next day, Xiu said that when Liu Feng led his 800 troops to the north of Linxiang City and lined up to wait.

  "Great General, what if Huang Zhong is able to hold his temper and refuses to come out and fight?" Ma Chao's eyes were fixed on the distant city tower, his tone laced with concern.

  Liu Feng's face was full of confidence, and he smiled: "Don't worry, as long as there is a written letter to provoke and separate them, even if Han Xuan becomes clever and chooses to avoid battle, Huang Zhong will definitely take the initiative to fight."

  When the first ray of sunlight broke through the thin clouds in the sky, and embroidered a layer of golden gauze on Linxiang City, there was suddenly movement on the opposite side. The suspension bridge slowly descended, the city gate opened wide, and a team of over a thousand soldiers and horses emerged from the city one after another, forming an array in front of the moat in an orderly manner.

  As I looked up and gazed into the distance, sure enough there was an old general standing in front of the army with a sword in hand, presumably that was Huang Zhong.

  Ma Chao's face showed surprise and delight: "The great general, as expected, is indeed correct. That Huang Zhong has come out to battle."

  Looking afar at the majestic old general, Liu Feng coldly smiled and said: "Let's proceed with the plan and send someone to inform Huang Han Sheng that I want to have a single-mounted conversation with him in front of the formation."

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